Joanna Newsom United States

"This is not for everyone. Vocals dominate everything here ... there are no drums, no bass - just orchestral instrumentation like strings, harp and the like. Joanna Newsom has a peculiar approach to singing - imagine a combination of Tom Waits and Tori Amos. The epic tracks tell crazy stories, in a way that's neither melancholic nor happy ... sometimes it gets a bit gloomy, but generally things stay on the positive side."